01 Industry Restructuring: From “Showcase Collection” to “Growth Ecosystem”

For decades, home furnishing trade fairs have relied on product categories to structure their exhibitions, with furniture, building materials, and home décor displayed in separate sections. This made exhibitions easier to organize and allowed visitors to navigate them by category. Today, however, the consumer decision-making journey has changed. Consumers are no longer simply buying a piece of furniture; they are creating a complete space. A space-oriented approach means that furniture, building materials, design, smart home solutions, and whole-home solutions should no longer be fragmented across separate exhibitions. Instead, they need to be brought together in one place, where they can be viewed, compared, and evaluated as part of an integrated whole.

This year, China International Furniture Fair (Shanghai) and China Construction Expo (Shanghai) will be held concurrently under one roof. This is not simply a physical combination of two exhibitions, but a restructuring of the industry’s underlying logic. Original design, sleep furniture, sofas and living & dining room furniture, office, commercial and hospitality furniture, furniture manufacturing equipment, home décor and textiles, outdoor furniture and materials, whole-home solutions, and wellness and healing will all come together in one space. For buyers, the decision-making journey—from a single chair to an entire wall—has effectively been shortened to the distance of a single venue.

Looking back, CIFF Shanghai has made an increasingly clear choice in recent years: not to expand simply for the sake of expansion, but to focus greater attention on questions that genuinely deserve to be revisited. Which sectors warrant dedicated exhibitions? Which categories could emerge as new growth engines over the next three years? And which core values should remain unchanged amid constant transformation? In September 2025, CIFF Shanghai launched its New Retail Pavilion for the first time, bringing together new retail brands such as Yeswood and CHUHU for their first collective appearance at an offline exhibition. Moving beyond e-commerce pages and into physical spaces, these brands received a more immediate market response than anticipated. This year, the New Retail Pavilion is set to reach new highs in both scale and the number of participating brands, bringing together more than ten leading new retail brands, including YESWOOD, LINSY, CHUHU, and Yuanshi yuansu. The growth trajectory of the six sub-shows is also becoming increasingly clear. Each sub-show represents recognition of its respective segment’s ability to develop as a distinct sector: each stands on its own, while together they form a comprehensive picture of the industry.

Industries converge in Hongqiao, where integration and innovation continue to unfold. When a trade fair consistently creates points of convergence, it ceases to be merely a showcase and becomes an engine for growth.

02 Value Upgrade: From “Viewing Design” to “Experiencing the Future”

The deeper value of a trade fair lies not in simply putting great products on display, but in creating a place where their value can be validated.

Now in its third year, Design Eden has evolved through three distinct themes. In its first year, “Infinite” pushed beyond boundaries, bringing original design into the spotlight. In its second year, “Preciousness” returned to the realities of constraints, putting design’s commercial resilience to the test. In 2026, “Measured Abundance” responds to the market by seeking a more mature sense of balance and discernment in design. Through this three-year evolution of themes, Design Eden has responded precisely to the industry’s changing needs at different stages, while gradually establishing itself as a gathering place for leading original design talent from China and around the world. Over the past three years, Design Eden’s content ecosystem has continued to evolve. HOTLINE, a joint exhibition for designers and creators, brings emerging designers into dialogue with industry players. The Contemporary Design Lifestyle Exhibition takes everyday living scenarios as its starting point, presenting forward-looking visions of how we might live. Design Gravity advocates a design philosophy of getting things just right, exploring precision and restraint in design. The Grand Tea Ceremony takes tea as its medium, delving into traditional tea culture and landscape aesthetics while integrating contemporary Eastern design concepts to create a new, poetic way of living. The YISI Design Exhibition continues to connect emerging young designers and uncover new creative potential. Each of these curated programs has its own distinct identity, yet together they form Design Eden’s ever-evolving content ecosystem. This year, Design Eden is expanding its horizons even further, with a growing number of international brands set to participate.

As Chinese brands expand onto the global stage, design should no longer be confined to aesthetic expression. It must also translate into product competitiveness, greater brand premium potential, and a language that resonates in international markets. The Gold Creation Award, exclusively launched at CIFF Shanghai, will continue to empower original Chinese design and drive China’s home furnishing industry toward greater quality and originality. This year, CIFF Shanghai embraces the theme “Design · Intelligence · Sustainability”: Design moves upward, driving value. Intelligence moves forward, extending efficiency. Sustainability looks further ahead, running through the entire industry. This is how value grows in Hongqiao—by being continuously validated and chosen.

03 Global Connection: From “Product Export” to “Brand Going Global”

Amid an industry-wide rush to drive sales, Hongqiao is focusing its attention on a different path: helping brands gain visibility on the global stage.

For Chinese home furnishing brands to move from exporting products to building brands globally, manufacturing capabilities alone are not enough. They also need the ability to express their design identity and connect effectively with global markets. CIFF Shanghai’s true strength lies not simply in the number of orders secured, but in the meaningful international connections forged here between global buyers and brands.

Throughout this year, CIFF Shanghai has continued to advance its Global Roadshow Program for Chinese Brands, reaching deep into the home furnishing markets of Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Europe through events in Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Türkiye. The program identifies and engages high-quality distributors, buyers, and brand agents worldwide, while providing a one-stop business matchmaking platform for Chinese and international companies. Its global buyer invitation system continues to operate efficiently, while its international partner network keeps expanding, further strengthening CIFF Shanghai’s global presence. CIFF Shanghai is also enhancing its international media communications network, with targeted operations across major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, consistently delivering relevant content to precisely defined audiences. In partnership with industry organizations, it has also established the CIFF Furniture Globalization Research Lab, providing brands with insights into overseas market developments, policy interpretation, and analysis of opportunities across product categories.

Here, international buyers assess the strengths and capabilities of China’s supply chain, while Chinese brands test the potential of global markets. A single visit offers access to multidimensional growth opportunities across China’s home furnishing industry. For Chinese brands going global, the answers are here in Hongqiao.

04 Cycle Reshaping: From a Single Fair to a Year-round Growth System

The four days of the fair are not a one-off burst of activity, but the ignition point for an engine of growth that keeps running. Before and after the event, connections between brands and distribution channels, dialogue between design and the market, and the matching of manufacturing capabilities with demand are woven into the industry’s year-round rhythm. This year, CIFF Shanghai is taking industry dialogue even further upstream. From July 16 to August 16, CIFF Shanghai · Design Eden, together with HOTLINE, will stage the month-long “Dongguan Qiqizuo” preview exhibition in Dongguan. Rooted in Dongguan’s world-class home furnishing manufacturing cluster and centered on the theme of “Circular Co-Creation,” the exhibition rapidly connects designers, factories, and brands, allowing design to enter the production line before it enters the exhibition hall.

For a trade fair, meaningful investment has never been limited to the four days of the event itself. It is a year-round system in motion. Before the fair, overseas roadshows reach deep into regional markets across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South America, and beyond; professional media and social platforms work in parallel to extend content reach; and targeted invitations drawn from a global database of professional buyers continue to build momentum for the event. During the fair, five business matchmaking sessions cover key export-oriented sectors including outdoor furniture, office furniture, living and dining room furniture, and upholstered furniture, precisely connecting exhibitors with international buyers. Dozens of industry forums take place in quick succession, while media exposure reaching tens of millions pushes industry attention to its peak. After the fair, initial connections established during the event are cultivated through continued communication and services, developing into tangible business partnerships, while media coverage and industry communities keep the fair’s momentum alive. In this way, a four-day industry gathering becomes a year-round industry conversation—one that continues to be seen and discussed.

Every stage before, during, and after the fair addresses the same question: how can the value created over these four days continue throughout the entire year? This is more than a curatorial approach. It is the core capability that sets Hongqiao apart from traditional trade fairs—transforming a one-off surge of activity into sustainable momentum for growth.

Change in the industry is never confined to a single product category. Behind it lies a reshaping of consumer behavior, an evolution of business models, and a realignment of the global industrial landscape.

From September 5 to 8, join us at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai Hongqiao to witness new directions and discover new answers for the home furnishing industry.